Humidifier for furnaces



June 17 1924.

A. W. MOEHLENBROCK MIDIFIER FOR FURNACES Filed May 9, 1924 Jim/25w Patented June 17, 1924-.

UNITED STATES HUMIDIFIER FOR FUnivAoEs. I

Application filed May 9, 1924. Serial No. 712,098.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR WV. MOEHLEN Brook, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Humidifier for Fur- 'naces of which the following is a specifica tion. i i

The object of my invention is to provide a hum'idifier for furnaces of siniple, durable and inexpensive construction, which may be easily and quickly placed inoperative position relative to the furnace, and which, when so placed, is capable of supplying moisture to the air within the furnace in proportion to the amount of heat carried by the air.

A further object is to provide a humidifier which may be easily and quickly placed in position on a furnace and which is capable of operating automatically, and at the same time being positive in its action. l

A further obj ect is to provide a humidifier so constructed and arranged thatitsvarious members may be easily and quickly sembled or taken apart for the purpose of cleaning or repairing.

My invention consis and illustrated in the accompanying draw- The humeral 10 indicates a furnace which is of the hot air type, and which is'pi'o-Y vided with the usual jacket ll The said jacket 11 has a hood 12 in which the furnace pipes 13 are mounte One side of the hood 12 is provided a door opening '14 for the purpose of permitting my improved humidifier to be placed in position on the furhacelO through the said opening." The door opening 14 is provided with a door 15' detachably connected therewith, for the purpose of closing the said door opening after the humidifier has been placed in position.

I My improved humidifier comprises a body ts in the construction, arrangement andcoinbination of the various I parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as a hereinafter more fully set forth, pointe d' out' in my claims,

portion 16 having a bottom 17 and an upright and circular wall member 18. The upper edge of the wall member 18 is provided with a conical shaped'top 1neniberl9 which terminates in a vertically extending neck 20, and which has its outer surface PATTENT OFFICE.

screw threaded. The neck 20 is provided with a pipe union 21 for the purpose of operatively connecting the said neck with a vertically arranged discharge pipe 22. The saiddischarge pipe is provided witha collar 23 designed to support'a cup 24. The said cup 24 hasa circular side wall 25, the upper edge of which is provided withan outwardly and upwardly extending flange 26. The central portion of the bottom of the cup 25 is provided with an opening designed to receive the discharge pipe 22, said opening being provided with a sleeve 27' of a height equal to theheight of the flange 26. By this arrangementit will be seen that an annular passage 28 is provided in the cup'for receivingthe water hereinafter mentioned.

Thebottom member ofthe cup 25 is provided with a downwardly and outwardly extending nipple 29 to which a pipe 30is secured by means of a pipe union 31. The

lowerend of sai'd pipe 30 is connected to a nipple .32 located in the upright wall'member. 18 of the body portion 16, near the bot touredge of said upright member. Placed on theflange 26 is a conical shaped screen 33 having its apex I end designed to be mounted in said ,flange 26. The upper end of the screen 33 is designed to receive a second conical shaped screen 34 having'its apex end extending upwardly and surrounding the upper end of the discharge pipe 22.

The upper end off-the discharge pipe-22h;

provided with adeflector plate 35, whichis ofspherical shape and mounted in position above the upper end of said discharge pipe by means ofspiders 36, said spiders having their. inner ends connected to a sleeve 37 which is simply slipped over the upper end ofthe pipe with the said sleeve extending down through an opening in the upper end of the conical screen 34. The base of the screen 34: is slightly smaller in diameter than the'base of the screen 33, as clearly shown inFigure2. V W

*Asecond nipple 38 is mounted in the upright wall member 18to which is connected a horizontally arranged pipe 39 by means of the union 40.,"The pipe 39 has its free end extending outwardly through the casing '11 side of the furnace casing 11 by means of a bracket 44. The tank 43 is so arranged that its top edge will lie in a plane below the bottom of the cup 25 with the bottom of said tank above the bottom of the body portion 16.

The tank 43 is provided with a sight gauge 45 for the purpose of indicating the amount of water within the tank, said gauge being of the usual construction. A supply pipe 46 is provided for the tank 43 which has a control valve 47.

The operation of my improved humidifier is as follows:

Assuming that the tank 43 has been filled with water, and that the body portion 16 of the humidifier has been placed on top of the furnace 10, as clearly illustrated in the drawings, then it will be seen that the body portion 16 will also become filled with water, which will also fill the discharge pipe 22 to a point substantially even with the bot tom of the cup 25 through the supply pipe 39. The pipe 30 will also be substantially filled with water. If no heat is applied to the furnace 10 it will be seen that practically no evaporation of the water within the body 16 will take place, but if a fire is built in the furnace 10 and the temperature considerably increased, a certain amount of steam and moisture .will be given oil from the water within the body portion 16, which will pass upwardly through the discharge pipe 22 and escape from beneath the de flector plate 35, and form a vapor which will mix with the air Within the hood 12, thereby permitting a comparatively small amount of moisture to be mixed with the air. But if the temperature within the furnace is greatly increased, then the water within the body portion 16 will reach the boiling point, at which time the bubbles of steam will travel upwardly through the dis charge pipe 22 and carry with them a portion of the water from the water chamber beneath, which will be discharged against the deflector plate 35, from where it will drip onto the outer surface of the conical screen 34- and a large portion of it will be taken up by the air in the form of vapor. The water will trickle down over the screen 34 and then engage the inner surface of the screen 33 where further evaporation will take place. Any water which succeeds in traveling to the lower end of the screen 33 will be dischargedinto the cup 25 from where it will drain through the pipe 30 to the water chamber of the body portion 16.

In this connection, it should be noted that the discharge pipe 22 should be about oneeighth to one-fourth of an inch inside diameter, as the best operation of the device depends on the diameter of the pipe being such that steam generated from the body portion 16 will ascend readily through the discharge pipe at a temperature below the boiling point, and yet should be small enough so that when the water reaches the boiling point, the bubbles formed by the escape of steam will entirely fill the pipe, the said pubbles then acting as small pistons or plungcrs which simply elevate the water and discharge it violently against the deflector plate 85. Thus it will be seen that when the furnace is heated at a high temperature, not only the steam generated by the water within the body portion will be discharged through the pipe 25, but also a large amount of hot water which trickles down over the screens. This provides an additional amount of moisture when the furnace is heated at a temperature where a large amount of moisture is necessary.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a humidifier which is capable of delivering moisture .tothe air in predetermined quantities and in proportion to the temperature of the air within the furnace. The pipe 39 is provided with an outer casing 48 which is for the purpose of partially shielding the said pipe from the intense heat from the furnace, as it is desirable to keep the water within the pipe 35 at as low a temperature as possible. If the water within the pipes 39 and 42 should become heated, then the steam bubbles would pass out through the tank 43 instead of the pipe 22, it being neces sary for the device to operate to keep the water within the pipes-39 and 42 heavier than the water: within the discharge pipe 22.

I claim as my invention:

1. A humidifier for hot air furnaces com prising a base member having a boiling chamber, a vertically arranged discharge pipe communicating with the upper end of said boiling chamber, a supply pipe coinmunicating with the lower end of said boiling chamber, a deflector plate at the upper end of said discharge pipe, means for collecting the water from said deflector plate and distributing it so it will be readily taken up by surrounding air, and means for collectingany excess water and returning it to the said boiling chamber.

2. A humidifier for hot air furnaces comprising a body portion having a boiling chamber designed to be placed on top of a furnace, a supply tank, a pipe for conveying water from said supply tank to the boiling chamber at a point in the bottom of said chamber, a vertically arranged discharge pipe communicating with the top of said chamber, a deflector plate at the outer end of said discharge pipe, a conical shaped screen beneath said deflector plate, a second conical shaped screen arranged in a vertical position beneath the first said screen. the first said screen having its apex end upward and the second said screen 'havscreen, said cup being located in a plane above the said supply tank, and means'for conveying water from said collector cup to the bottom of said boiling chamber,

3. A humidifier for hot air furnaces comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having its lower end closed, a conical shaped cover for said body portion terminating in a vertically arranged discharge pipe, a cup member detachably secured to the said discharge pipe having an annular receiving passage and an upwardly and outwardly extending flange, an in verted conical shaped screen mounted in said flange, a second conical shaped screen mounted in the upper end of the first said screen, the second screen having its apex end extending upwardly to receive the discharge end of said pipe, a spherical shaped deflector plate above said discharge pipe, a pipe for conveying Water from the annular passage of said cup to the lower side or said cylindrical body portion, a supply pipe also communicating with the lower portion of said cylindrical body portion, a supply tank communicating with said supply pipe, at sight gauge for said supply tank, a supply pipe for said supply tank, and a controlling valve for the last said supply pipe.

4. A humidifier for hot air furnaces comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion having its lower end closed, a conical shaped cover for said body portion terminating in a vertically arranged discharge pipe, a

cup member detachably secured to the said discharge pipe having an annular receiving passage and an upwardly and outwardly extending flange, an inverted conical shaped screen mounted in saidfiange, a second conical shaped screen mounted in the upper end of the first said screen, the secondscreen having its apex end extending upwardly to receive the discharge end of said pipe, a spherical shaped deflector plate above said, discharge pipe, a pipe for conveying water from the annular passage of said cup to the lower side of said cylindrical body portion, a supply pipe'also cummunicating With the lower portion of said cylindrical body portion, a supply tank communicating with said supply pipe, a sight gauge for said supply tank, a supply pipe for said supply tank, and a controlling valve for the last said supply pipe, all of the said pipes being detachably connected with the said body portion while the remaining members of said device are detachably connected with each other and their supporting members.

5. A humidifier for hot air furnaces comprising a base member having a boiling chamber, a vertically arranged discharge pipe communicating with the upper end of said boiling chamber, a supply pipe communicating with the lower end of said boiling chamber, a deflector plate at the upper end of said discharge pipe, and means for collecting the water from said deflector plate and distributing it so it will be readily taken up by surrounding air.

Des Moines, Iowa, April 24, 1924.

ARTHIJR W. MOEHLENBROCK. 

